1973 Oscars: Marlon Brando

A moment in Native film history! 1973 Academy Awards. Roger Moore is ready to hand the Oscar for Best Actor to Marlon Brando for his work in The Godfather when he sees a Native American woman walking to the stage. Sacheen Littlefeather refuses to take the award and says Marlon Brando sent her! This moment sent shockwaves across the film industry. 85 million people saw this moment in Oscars history. But Marlon did it because of the treatment of Natives at the Wounded Knee Occupation and the perpetuating of negative stereotypes of Native people in film. This moment represents a maturation point in Native Film history when a larger conversation began about accurate representation of Native people, along with other minorities in film.